Place:Drumblade, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

[Condensed from A New History of Aberdeenshire by Alexander Smith (Ed), 1875, and provided by GENUKI]

The ancient name of this parish appears to have been Drumblait, and is derived from the Gaelic Druim, "a ridge", and blait, or bleat, which may signify "covered, or barely covered, ridges".

The parish is bounded on the north and east by the parish of Forgue, on the south by Insch and Gartly, and on the west by Huntly. The greatest length of the parish, measured in a direct line from south to north, is 7 miles; and its greatest breadth, also in a direct line from east to west, is about 6 miles. The whole area is computed to be 8,610 acres. The southern section of the parish is composed of a series of rounded hills which run along the north side of the River Ury (or Glen Water) from Bainshole, to the hills of Cocklarachy, on Bogieside. The northern division of the parish is diversified by ridges and small rounded hills, which generally lie in a south and north direction, having gentle slopes, which are cultivated along with the lower valleys on both sides of the central ridge of Lessendrum, which, in Gaelic, signifies the end of the ridge. The lowermost point on the burn of Forgue in this parish, near Newmills of Pitfancy, is 306 feet above sea level, the church of Drumblade is about 400 feet; and the water of Ury, on the Forgue boundary, in the glens of Foudland, is 648 feet. The Huntly Station of the Great North of Scotland Railway is about 400 feet above sea level.

[Condensed from F. H. Groome, Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-4) provided by the Gazetteer for Scotland]

Drumblade, is a parish of northwest Aberdeenshire, whose church stands 4¾ miles E by N of Huntly. Its chief village (of the same name) has a post office. The parish also contains Huntly railway station. The soil, in the valleys, is chiefly a deep rich loam; on the higher grounds, it is thin and gravelly, but fairly fertile. Fully three-fourths of the entire area are arable, extensive reclamations having been carried out within the last fifty years; woods cover about one-sixteenth; and the rest is either pastoral or waste.

The chief historic event is [Robert the] Bruce's encampment at Sliach in 1307, when, sick though he was, he held Comyn's forces in check; and Robin's Height and the Meet Hillock are supposed to have been occupied by his troops. A Roman road is said to have run past Meikletown; and antiquities are two prehistoric tumuli, a few remaining stones of a 'Druidical' circle, and the Well of St Hilary, the patron saint, which was formerly resorted to by pilgrims.

Lessendrum is the only mansion; and 3 proprietors divide most of the parish.

Population Growth

Populations 1801-1951 from A Vision of Britain through Time (http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk).
2001 population from Scotland’s Census (https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk).

Research Tips

There was formerly a note on this page that the parish was linked to the Presbytery of Turriff, Synod of Aberdeen, Scotland. It would appear that since 1975 the organization of the presbyteries and synods has been revised. Readers are reminded that the Church of Scotland is Presbyterian in nature while in England the Church of England is Episcopalian. (See Wikipedia. )

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• Scotlands Places
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• The FamilySearch Wiki
• GENUKI which provides, amongst other data, complete quotations from A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland (1851) by Samuel Lewis, John Bartholomew's A Gazetteer of the British Isles (1877), and A New History of Aberdeenshire edited by Alexander Smith (1875)
• A list of Burial Grounds in Scotland is now available on the website of the Scottish Association of Family History Societies.
• Aberdeenshire and Moray Records. Town Council minutes, accounts, letters, plans and harbour records provided by Aberdeenshire Council plus other local records.
• Aberdeen and North-East Scotland Family History Society is one of the largest and most reputable family history societies in Scotland and has a long list of publications referring to individual parishes.